A Hong Kong couple’s quest to resurrect a ghost village
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2024
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It takes an hour to drive from Hong Kong’s bustling city centre and then another hour-long hike to reach the old Hakka village known as Kuk Po. Once a thriving community, it was gradually abandoned over several decades starting from after World War II as villagers moved to urban areas or overseas. Now, one couple with family ties to Kuk Po has returned to try and breathe new life into the old village, starting with efforts to preserve their ancestral home - a task that has become a journey toward greater self-sufficiency.
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This could solve some of the housing crisis in Hong Kong. If the could get transport to the east rail line they could get into the city
No that is totally unrealistic and not efficient at all. There are many places better suited to solve the housing crisis if anyone really cared about it.
Not really. HK needs to conserve this village to keep the culture for the future generation.
what a lovely hardworking couple ❤
Agreed, I hope they succeed, one thing I am wondering is do they know the Hakka dialect?,
their video is made speaking Cantonese only, when I was back many years ago,
my sister and I was conversing in our native Hakka tongue on the MTR,
a couple of students kept glancing over at us inquisitively, eventually before they alight at Tai Wai,
they politely asked what kind of language were we conversing in,
we told him what it was and it was spoken back in the day in the New Territories.
Thank you very much, SCMP 🙏🏽🙇🏻♀️
Truly astonishing love and life story of this Hong Kong couple. It is also showing much more beautiful side of Hong Kong than just its bustling city. Absolutely Love this side of Hong Kong 🥹🥲❤️❤️❤️
That was an awesome video. That was food for the soul. Especially, in our busy modern lives. This was very inspirational.
Are you from Hong Kong?? Hope someone answer me
I love the Hong Kong dialect, I have a friend whose ancestral home is on Kut O island, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting it and seen where my friend was born, I feel honoured to visit this island
I am sure Kut O was honoured to host you as a visitor, someone who respect others way of life and heritage.❤
I was born in Kok Po but grew up in Nam Chung till I was 10 before leaving for these shores,
watching this video fills me with melancholy, i think Kut O has a more diverse inhabitants,
Nam Chung, Luk Keng and Kuk Po was strictly Hakka people (the dialect you like I think)in Nam Chung the different villages have the same ancestral name,
Yeung Vlg, Lee Vlg, Law Vlg, Chang Vlg etc.. I made a pilgrimage visit the last time I was back,
tinge of sadness seeing the abandoned houses, it’s feels like time stopped at some point,
so quiet you can hear the silence only interrupted by a barking dog as we approach,
in the intervening years, incomers has crossed over the borders and occupied some of the houses,
dug up the fields and filled it up and farmed carps and ducks, it has destroyed the eco system,
crystal clear streams that runs through out to the mangroves to the sea,
there was a Lochan that used to have tens of thousands of Storks, it was a sight to see and hear at sunset,
now it’s gone, their feeding ground has been decimated by pollution, very sad.
It’s called Cantonese, originating from Guangdong province of China.
It’s sad that most of these ancestral and cultural villages have been abandoned in Hong Kong my home, in favour of the noisy urban city as traditionally these villages all belonged to one family with their own traditions.
Are you from Hong Kong?? Can you speak Cantonese
i wish u all the best for this vision, it's great how just some people can change a part of the world to a better place
My mother is Hakka from HK.
Very cool... great to see so many interested in conservation... Also I'm surprised there are empty places in HK, assumed everywhere was crowded 😊 best of luck to them
Its still some empty land....but to get there we need to cross the mountain. it is rural area that's why most hongkonger choose to live in the city where they can easily get access to everything. .
True luxurious life is living with nature
My wife village kop tong is not far from this village, similar situation everyone left the village in the 60s 70s to lives in the city or overseas, some never went back since they left ..
This is something I would do.
I want to create a community of my own
You can. I did. After quitting my job I bought a village peasant's house here in Germanywhen landin the East was still affordable. The village was not abandoned though, but I got enough land to create a self sustaining living for my family.
It works if you don't have to high standards. But if you live this way you don't need new dresses each month and 10 pairs of shoe.
Just find a partner with similar interests. The internet makes it possible. And then find some land. If you are not so wealthy go abroad. Some couples settled down in Russia. There are some reports at TH-cam. In Russia you need to know Russian, of course.
If you are European or US American you can go to a place within the EU. I would recommend Lithuania or Latvia. These countries have many villages in which only old people or almost nobody now as young people look for their luck in the richer European countries. In the cities there you are welcomed when you speak English or German. And for the live in the village you will find ways to communicate by time. I can only encourage you to make your dreams come true.
I do it in my head all the time.
@@holdinmuhl4959 "Just find a partner with similar interests."
The most difficult part 🤣
@@GeorgeMartinus , I don't think so. In my neighbourhood there is such a couple.
Of course you won't find them without some persistance.
Peaceful ❤
Thanks SCMP for this interesting report. Very touching story.
Awesome I love country style.
Just beautiful 💖
What a beautiful couple
Thank you for sharing
great documentary. My fathers village is just up the road from Kuk Po
love them ❤
One of the most honest videos from this part of the world.
Beautiful!
Brilliant couple!
Love that they are Christian. Their faith helps them through the tough country life and preservation efforts. Jesus loves you.
Interesting format
Very inspirational, no doubt it's a tough life compared to HK city living and TBH not sure if I could do it ...
On a daily basis to the city would be very tough. An hour of walking to the nearest transport means is tough man!
@@ernestkj , yeah I use to visit my mum living in a village but not as remote as this.. it's very tiring on public transport , mini bus, MTR, never mind a hike to this village etc. Also when it showers/floods or winter, ever hot summer, it's tough !!! So hats off to this couple!
I’m an overseas born Chinese, learning how to speak proper Cantonese in this video! Hopefully the local govt can revived these villages.
Amen !!!
Living in an AOEII Barracks. So cool.
This is where years of playing city building games comes into play!
AMEN
The biggest problem in Hong Kong is housing, just like in New York and San Francisco. This will help solve the problem for elderly who are retired and have time on their hands. Young people can learn about farming, compost, and sustainability. They can learn how to rely on themselves for food, instead of eating takeout all the time.
Mother's ancestral village is a ghost village.
🎉🎉 greetings from india 🎉🙏🙏
Hakka❤.
Owing to the Northern Metropolitan Region Development Strategy, the land price will boost up. Obviously, they may not only want to breath new life into a ghost village. Let's look longer & check whether they can keep on enjoying to live in this ghost village because of the recent downturn of property market price.
I'm amaze their government pay attention, in Philippines so may old building but they don't dare to renovate
Actually the same is also the case in HK
old cemeteries 🇭🇰
Can i buy a small piece of land? 😊
🙏🙏🙏❤❤❤❤
This village would be bustling if only it had proper transport, not a footpath.
But Hong Kong so condense in the city no place to live
i think the emphasis here should not be placed upon another nation's goods, but the actual degradatory impact of the particular goods being manufactured. the hazards of the EV industry ought to be well-known, both as a safety risk to the consumer, and as a destroyer of smaller economies and their lands as the raw material is mined. the viability of US or European nations' economies IS NOT at risk for openly trading, but for dismissing the importance of citizen safety, natural resources, and the lives of other people desperate to partake in this, yet another, temporary scheme of money ego.
other elements need to be put in place to help secure jobs here in the US, such as food, education, etc. ..not being decidedly "unartificial..."
I live in China. Everything is miserable here, but no one dares to complain. We Chinese hope the Hong Kongers, Tibetans and Uyghurs won't live like us any longer. Seriously, if there is next life, I wish to be born in any other country, except China.
GREETINGS AND BLESSINGS FROM DALLAS TEXAS USA 🇺🇸
I WATCH "INSIDE CHINA" UTUBE CHANNEL AND I HAVE SEEN HOW MISERABLE CITIZENS LIVE IN CHINA. IT'S THE SAME WAY HERE IN MY AMERICA... THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT WE ARE FREE TO CHOOSE TO BE POOR OR BE RICH. I PRAY YOUR SITUATION GETS BETTER FOR YOU.
Strange that a country as small as Hong Kong would have an almost abandoned village - its more the sort of thing you would see in large countries such as Australia or USA.
Mostly Hakka. They are the first to leave. Unlike patriotic Sun Yat Sen and Chiang Kai Skek.
TEACH HAKKA////INVITE OVERSEAS CHINESE WHO WANTS TO LEARN ABOUT HAKKA CULTURE/////❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
it was most populace during the 1960s-1980s thats the communist famine my g
How come they don't come to India? We speak English here!
No one wants to live in a septic tank
😂@@bigsun1187
Cuz they don't want to get targeted by racist mobs that will bully everyone including NE Indian peoples 😂
Your pathetic bro
No, I won't waste my life in this condition, it's 2024 not 1960.
🤣🤣🤣
When China limited 😢the number of children born there was a whole generation thats lacking numbers. So when most went to the big cities for worj these villages went empty. China is currently giving away properties to get people back to those once-prosperous villages. 😮
This lady is sweet but a bit of a nutcase
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Fake profile!
How about 中 出 granny peng? Does it breathe new life into granny peng?
This looks like a hard life, but it's a life I'd love to live. I'm Canadian, I don't think I could re-learn a new language, but I'd certainly give it a shot. I grew up in the bushes of Northern Ontario and know a bit about hardship; I would love nothing more than to be accepted into this Hakka community.
Brilliant documentary. 🫶🏼
The aunty’s canto sounds different. Deffo not HK sound…
Probably Hakka?
@@ianhomerpura8937 That's what I thought so, too.
Are you guys from Hong Kong? Can you speak Cantonese?
Mentioned in the middle of video. Yes they are Hakka.